Hemlock Grove: Season 2Review

Though this is a review of Hemlock Grove: Season 2 in its entirety, it will not go into deep spoilers. For thoughts on some of the more specific twists and turns of the season, head over to this discussion here.

Hemlock Grove recently returned to Netflix with Season 2, and thankfully, it's an improvement from Season 1. They correct missteps both major and minor and take care of one of the more annoying if small errors of the last season almost immediately. That adjustment gave me hope because it showed they took note of last season's issues. With a new showrunner on board, Charles “Chic” Eglee (The Shield, Dexter, The Walking Dead), Hemlock Grove got better, though there were still some notable missteps.

Another mystery plagues the Pennsylvania town and as before, Roman (Bill Skarsgård) and Peter (Landon Liboiron) are in the middle of it. Their relationship is just as important in Season 2, but they have problems to overcome. There are at least a couple of confrontations that add a different dynamic to their relationship, but they're not entirely back in best friend territory. And they shouldn't be. While they're in the middle of their fight and dealing with visions of murders, Miranda Cates (Orange is the New Black's Madeline Brewer) enters the picture and brings additional drama.

This season's primary plots have a pretty straight through line with few flashbacks. It doesn't meander back and forth as in Season 1, but that's not to say it doesn't take any diversions. The primary puzzle is introduced in the first episode, but it takes a while to pay off. Even though there were continual reminders and occurrences feeding that particular story, I was worried they would forget to solve it. They cleverly provide most of the answers while leaving plenty to explore in future seasons (if they happen).

That arc goes towards adding to the mythology of the world of Hemlock Grove. They're veering off page from the book by Brian McGreevy, and they're going in a positive direction. The world has a become a place I want to know more about.

Besides what I would call the two main arcs, there seem to be countless other tributaries that just aren't necessary. There's a head-scratching story with a woman who works for Pryce and a path involving the Order of the Dragon that feels like an odd-shaped puzzle piece. Tidying up the secondary and tertiary stories or weaving them more into the bigger pieces would have made for a tighter season. As it stands, the episodes occasionally felt unfocused.

As in Season 1, the most enjoyable parts of Season 2 are the performances. Skarsgård is the ideal choice to portray Roman, and he especially shines as Roman wrestles with his humanity and Upir-ism. He's carrying a significant amount of hatred in his pockets for himself, Olivia, and Peter but still has moments of kindness and innocence. Liboiron is equally wonderful as Peter. He's always been comfortable with his werewolf aspects, but he has to deal with some intense changes over the season and we really watch him grow up.

Tiio Horn and Landon Liboiron in Hemlock Grove

Brewer brought charm and a necessary outsider's perspective in her role as Miranda, and it was a delight to watch her react to and become part of the bizarre happenings in Hemlock Grove. Tiio Horn had an increased role as Destiny Rumancek. Though the character could do with more fleshing out, Horn has a compelling on screen presence.

Speaking of the bizarre, the season was packed with plenty of weirdness. Possibly too much of it. Given the supernatural and horror genre of the series, spurting blood and gross-out gore is expected. Some of it was inventive – a scene in episode one showing how Roman is fulfilling his need for blood comes to mind – while some of it had the feel of, “Hey, we really need to splash a gallon or several of blood around here.” I'm not saying it's not fun, but it perhaps would have been more effective if applied with a lighter hand.

The biggest shock of the series comes towards the end, and while I won't spoil specifics, I do need to note the less than stellar graphics added a layer of silliness they surely weren't trying to achieve.

One issue Season 2 suffers from is not just too many storylines, but too many main characters in the picture. While it was interesting to see the spotlight turn to a character like Dr. Johann Pryce (Joel de la Fuente), it was impossible to balance screen time for everyone. Without calculating minutes and seconds, Roman and Peter were the most visible – as it should be since the story centers around their relationship – but with Norman, Olivia, Shelley, a lab assistant, and more shoehorned in, it was too busy and sometimes disjointed.

And a few of the characters I just listed only seemed to have scenes to hit a quota of some kind. Madeleine Martin joined Season 2, taking over the role of Shelley Godfrey, and while she is completely charming and engaging in the role of the misunderstood girl, cutting her scenes in the first five or so episodes wouldn't have had any detrimental effect to the story.

This link directs to a retail affiliate. IGN may receive a commission from your purchase.

The Verdict

Overall, Hemlock Grove has made improvements. The season offered good performances, an intriguing and scary mystery, and some satisfying developments. Less characters and more focus would have bumped it all up a notch though.

For thoughts on the end of the season and some other big spoilers -- and a place for you to comment on those plot points without spoiling others -- click here.

Amy Ratcliffe is a writer for IGN TV. You can follow her on on Twitter at @Amy_Geek and IGN at alratcliffe.

Okay

Season 2 of Hemlock Grove has gore, supernatural beings, and interesting relationships but does it better this time.